Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 600th league appearance with his 20th Serie A goal of the season as Juventus comfortably beat Spezia.

All three goals came in the second half, with Ronaldo getting his side’s third when he finished off a quick counter-attack in the final minute.

Alvaro Morata had turned in Federico Bernardeschi’s cross for the opener before Federico Chiesa tapped in.

Victory moved Juventus to within three points of second-placed AC Milan.

Ronaldo’s goal means he has become the first player to score at least 20 goals in each of the past 12 seasons in Europe’s top five leagues.

Former Liverpool and Scotland forward Ian St John has died at the age of 82 after a long illness.

St John joined Liverpool from hometown team Motherwell in 1961 for a club record £37,500 and played 425 games for the Anfield side, scoring 118 goals, during a decade of service.

He won two top-flight titles and scored the decisive goal as Liverpool lifted their first FA Cup in 1965.

St John also earned 21 Scotland caps and managed Motherwell and Portsmouth.

He latterly enjoyed a successful career as a TV pundit, teaming up with former England striker Jimmy Greaves to front the hugely popular ‘Saint and Greavsie’ show which ran until 1992.

The St John family’s statement said: “It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that after a long illness we have lost a husband, father and grandfather.

“He passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside. We would like to thank all the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital for their hard work and dedication during these very difficult times.”

Premier League champions Liverpool are “deeply saddened” by the loss of a “true Anfield legend”.

‘We can’t afford not to buy him’

St John’s finishing prowess was evident from his early days at Motherwell, the club he had watched as a supporter lifting the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1952 before joining five years later.

His prolific scoring record earned him international recognition and a move to Liverpool under fellow Scot Bill Shankly where he soon became a fans’ favourite.

It has gone down in Liverpool mythology that when the board were reluctant to spend a record fee on the player, Shankly’s reply was: “We can’t afford not to buy him.”

St John quickly began to prove his worth, scoring a hat-trick on his debut, a 4-3 defeat to Everton in the Liverpool Senior Cup. Within 12 months his 22 league goals had helped Liverpool secure the Second Division title.

He matched that total in season 1963-64 as the Anfield men won their first top-flight crown in 17 years, with a second title following two years later.

Perhaps his most iconic moment in the red shirt came at Wembley in 1965 when his headed winner in extra time overcame Leeds United 2-1 to give Liverpool their first FA Cup.

A Scotland international by age 20, St John netted nine times in his 21 appearances for his country.

After leaving Liverpool he had shorts spells with South African sides Hellenic and Cape Town City either side of a season with Coventry City, before ending his playing days at Tranmere Rovers.

He returned to Motherwell as manager in 1973, then moved on to Portsmouth before embarking on a successful career in broadcasting.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to be ruled out for up to three weeks with a left thigh injury, meaning he will miss the Europa League tie against former side Manchester United.

The 39-year-old, who scored 29 goals in 53 games for United, was substituted in the 56th minute of Milan’s 2-1 win over Roma on Sunday.

The two legs of the last-16 tie are due to be played on 11 and 18 March.

The Swede has scored 16 goals in 21 games this campaign.

AC Milan are second in Serie A, four points behind rivals Inter Milan.

Novak Djokovic has equalled Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks ranked as world number one.

The 33-year-old Serbian is guaranteed to break the mark next week.

Djokovic won his 18th Grand Slam title and his ninth Australian Open crown in Melbourne last month.

“After achieving the historic number one for the longest weeks at number one, it’s going to be a relief for me because I’m going to focus all my attention on slams mostly,” he said.

His victory in Melbourne takes him to two wins behind the joint holders of the men’s Grand Slam record, Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic has been helped by temporary changes to the ranking system because of the coronavirus pandemic which means players can currently count tournaments from two years instead of one.

However, he is still the in-form player on the men’s tour, beginning 2021 by winning nine consecutive matches while last year he did not lose a completed match until the French Open final in October.

Djokovic’s fifth spell at the top of the rankings began on 3 February last and he has been number one for all but 32 weeks since Federer hit 310 weeks in June 2018.

His longest stint as number one was 122 weeks between July 2014 and November 2016.

Djokovic sits on 12,030 points – more than 2,000 clear of Rafael Nadal, with Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem the only other players with more than 7,000 points.

However, he still trails the women’s number one record holder Steffi Graf who held top spot for 377 weeks, while Martina Navratilova (332) and Serena Williams (319) have also had longer spells at number one than Djokovic.

Juventus were held to a draw by mid-table Verona and now sit seven points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Andrea Pirlo’s side led when Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home with a first-time finish from Federico Chiesa’s pass, his 19th league goal of the season.

But Juve were poor and Verona equalised through Antonin Barak’s header from Darko Lazovic’s cross.

The defending Italian champions were hanging on at the end and Wojciech Szczesny denied Lazovic a winner.

Inter will go 10 points clear of Juve – who have won the past nine titles – if they beat Genoa on Sunday.

Lionel Messi scored and created the other as Barcelona beat in-form Sevilla and went within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

Messi fed Ousmane Dembele to slot home the opener before team-mate Sergino Dest hit the post.

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet had a header disallowed for offside – and then Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri also had one ruled out for offside.

Messi scrambled home a late second to clinch the game.

The Barca captain had a shot saved by Sevilla keeper Bono, with a lucky ricochet taking Messi past the keeper to score into an empty net.

That was his 38th goal against Sevilla, six more than he has managed against any other side.

He has now netted in eight La Liga games in a row – 12 goals in total during those matches – his best streak in two years.

Barca’s winner took them within one result of Atleti, although Diego Simeone’s leaders have two games in hand. Sevilla’s defeat brings to an end a 10-game winning run in domestic competitions.

Both sides meet again on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg. Sevilla won the first leg 2-0.

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Elche to move within five points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

The Argentina forward found the bottom corner to open the scoring from Martin Braithwaite’s backheel after the break.

The 33-year-old then doubled the lead 20 minutes later, finishing smartly after a wonderful solo run and pass from Dutchman Frenkie de Jong.

Jordi Alba wrapped up the win at the Camp Nou shortly after when he converted from Braithwaite’s header.

Messi’s double takes him top of the La Liga scoring chart with 18 goals, two more than Luis Suarez.

Barcelona are third in the table behind Atletico and Real Madrid, albeit having played a game more than the leaders.

Sevilla can also move back above them if they win their game in hand.